Today is #NationalHonestyDay and recognizing that the world is going through a lot of questions during #Covid19, there is one thing we all agree on… boosting our immune system will help us during this pandemic. One of the top Google searches these days is “How do I boost my immune system?” and there is a lot of conflicting information on what is natural and healthy. Consumers are being duped, so I went to Derek Holm, the lead formulator of Neogenics, to find out what we should look for when trying to stay healthy, especially during the pandemic, and this is what he shared with me:
From Derek Holm, Chief Formulator of Neogenics Nutrition
“Within the dietary supplement industry, a very important factor that is ALWAYS overlooked when someone is making a supplement purchase is a brand’s transparency. There are countless supplements available in the market that utilize loopholes and marketing strategies in order to hide the truth about their products.
To be transparent for #NationalHonestyDay, the supplement industry has a giant problem with honesty!
Throughout my career, I have addressed this lack of transparency and quite vocally objected to these practices with very little movement in the right direction. When money is the primary motivator, the customer pays the ultimate price with inferior products. Most companies don’t want you to know what is really in their products so they use lots of different tricks to sneak this stuff passed you. That is why I am glad here on #NationalHonestyDay we are exposing these tricks so the public can be educated and make more informed decisions on something as critical as their health… especially during the Coronavirus Crisis.
Three areas that tend to be the most easily exposed are:
-
- When products are conveniently labeled “Proprietary Blends”
- When the actual ingredient names are hidden
- Using the “GMP” mark on their labels to give consumers a false sense of security.
Proprietary Blends – This is a very popular strategy because there are almost no limitations. It’s a way of hiding the amounts of individual ingredients making the product appear strong and effective when it’s actually the complete opposite.
Example: Recently I reviewed a very popular fruit and veggie capsule product for a team member. The product had a proprietary blend that amounted to 350mg’s per serving. The blend consisted of a mix of 10 fruit and veggie powders.
At first glance, this appears amazing! The consumer thinks, “I’m getting all the benefits of these fruits and vegetables in one serving!” As we take a step back and do some basic math, we see a different picture.
Let’s pretend for a moment that the company is evenly dividing the mg’s of each ingredient to come up with the 350mg total (even though we know that is very unlikely, the standard practice is to split them up based on the cost of each ingredient…. using the cheapest ingredient as the highest amount and the most expensive ingredient as the lowest amount.)
If we have 350mg’s of total formula, with 10 different ingredients and divide them evenly, that comes to 35mg per ingredient. While 35mg’s of an extremely potent extract might be effective, 35mg’s of a fruit or veggie powder is not.
This 35mg amount would fit on the tip of someone’s pinky finger. To put this in perspective, one chip of a dehydrated banana weighs over 1000mg’s. Let that sink in for a moment… one chip of a dehydrated banana weighs over 1000mg’s. That means we would have to take almost 30 times as much of this supplement to equal one chip of dehydrated banana! Basically, if I can put this in layman’s terms, you are getting a bit of overpriced banana dust that is hidden inside a term called “Proprietary Blend.”
Hiding Ingredient Names or Strength – This is another common practice and there are thousands of products that don’t disclose specifics about an ingredient that can easily mislead or confuse the consumer. A label may list a partial ingredient name or state only that an extract is being used, but won’t state the strength of the extract.
Example: I know this will sound a bit techy but I think you will get the point. Let’s take ashwagandha for example. There are literally thousands of different types of ashwagandha extract. They can range from simple “ratio extracts” like 4:1 or can be “standardized extracts” like standardized for % of glycosides. Many labels will just state “ashwagandha extract”. Without knowing the strength or the number of active glycosides, you are left unaware of how effective it will be, and that makes a huge difference.
The main reason most companies don’t list this information is because they are usually using the cheapest form available, which in this case would be an ashwagandha extract 2:1 or 4:1, both of which are virtually useless in terms of effectiveness.
Misrepresentation of the “GMP” mark on labels – EVERY manufacturing facility BY LAW is GMP, so unless the label reads “made in a GMP Certified facility“, the GMP acronym means nothing.
The keyword here is “certified”. A certified GMP facility operates under much stricter guidelines and must be verified by a third-party multiple times in a year. This obviously adds to the cost of the product so many supplement companies cut corners and just conveniently use the GMP mark to confuse their customers.
Consumers should beware of uncertified facilities because it often leads to poor habits and lower standards, which can definitely produce lower quality products. Since your goal should be to increase your health and immune system in the best possible way, I highly recommend Neogenics products.
Transparency – Those tricky representations are what led me to leave those companies and lead the way with natural products people can be proud of. I’m passionate about my position on these three issues and Neogenics is proud to share full transparency as we celebrate #NationalHonestyDay!
Our formulas are effective because we offer the highest quality natural ingredients and aren’t cutting corners. We have extremely high standards and our products are all made in a GMP Certified facility. The Neogenics mission is “Products are our Passion, but People are our Purpose.” We believe in what we are doing and Neogenics even offers a full 60-day money-back guarantee so there is no risk in giving good health a try. We are proud to help you #FindYourFeelBetter.”
If you haven’t already participated, Neogenics is the amazing company sponsoring the #DoYouNEO (Need Extra Opportunities) free training series that we are doing every Wednesday night through June 24, 2020. There is fabulous training, weekly prizes and an opportunity to educate yourself on how to stay healthy. So celebrate #NationalHonestyDay by setting yourself up for success by getting registered!
And if you are looking to get healthy, I can honestly say I’ve been taking the Immune Boost Bundle that Neogenics has on special right now and I absolutely love it! (They have a super special price for a limited time if you want to boost your immune system, I recommend you try it!)
Until next week,